In What I鈥檝e Been Reading I happened to mention the following:
“I鈥檓 on a bit of a health kick (lost 7% body fat in several months) which I鈥檒l write about sometime.”
A few readers commented on this and asked me to give some details.
This is the post that will do that as well as relate physical fitness to financial fitness.
Background
Let’s begin 25 years or so ago. I was at a party and asked to move a huge garbage can filled with ice and soda. A friend and I grabbed it and as we lifted I felt some movement in my lower back. This was the beginning of back issues for me.
Over the next 25 years I went to doctors of all sorts, chiropractors, and physical therapists. Nothing seemed to help my back situation. I had x-rays, MRIs, and a whole host of tests. What was more frustrating than my physical issues was that no one could find any physical problem with my back.
My back issues weren’t debilitating or even painful most of the time, but I always had symptoms with me — tingling, numbness, weakness, and so forth.
It would come and go in severity. I was able to do lawn work and walk and even had times when I could do higher levels of exercise. In my thirties I started shadow boxing, only to give up later due to back issues. In my early forties I tried and was able to ride a bike, something I didn’t think I could do. I spent the next several summers accumulating thousands of miles on my bikes until the inclined position led to more back issues. In my late forties I learned how to swim laps and spent several years going back and forth in the water.
But the back symptoms continued. I just couldn’t shake them.
As you might imagine, I wasn’t in the best physical condition during this time. I was six feet four inches tall, 210 pounds or so, and was very “soft” overall. My swimming kept my weight manageable and my heart in decent condition, but I had very little muscle mass. I couldn’t lift weights, or so I thought, as I’d hurt my back even more.
Life in Transition
Then as my life shifted from Oklahoma to Colorado a few things happened.
First, while on a drive between Oklahoma and Colorado when my family was in transition, I listened to an audio version of Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection
. It’s message was simple: your back issues are in your mind.
I know. Believe me, I know. It’s not a message I wanted to hear. Who was this guy to tell me the problems I had dealt with for 25 years were the fault of my stress and unconscious rage? I immediately dismissed it as hocus pocus. But upon reflection I couldn’t argue with his results. I also couldn’t argue with the fact that while I had back issues, no doctor could find any physical reason for them (In case you want to know more about the book and its author, here are links about Dr. John Sarno and what he calls tension myositis syndrome).
Interestingly enough, the treatment (in its most basic form) for this issue is to simply be aware of it. And when symptoms appear, you mentally recognize them and intentionally, mentally deny that they exist — deny that they are real.
This is what I did and believe it or not, my symptoms started to fade over the course of a couple months.
I understand that this must sound really strange. I’m not advocating anything here. I’m not saying this works for everyone. It seems even strange to type it out. I’m just telling you what happened to me. Feel free to draw your own conclusions.
Meet the Trainer
Second, as we started our move to Colorado, we decided to join a gym. I wanted one with a lap pool (of course) and we picked one we liked. Interestingly enough when we then bought our house, we were within walking distance to this gym.
Part of the gym membership was a free meeting with a trainer. I’m a DIY guy and am usually skeptical about “experts” in any field, especially when their objective is to sell you something. But the guy who signed me up for the gym membership recommended a particular trainer who he said was excellent. So since it was free, I figured I had nothing to lose.
Even though this was a free session, I took it seriously. I put together a document with my physical issues and potential goals and brought it to the meeting. We spent 45 minutes or so reviewing it and discussing my situation, particularly my back issues. We then did some very simple exercises which I was surprised I could even do.
I left feeling great (and felt great for several days afterward) and with no commitment required. The trainer said he’d love to work with me and felt confident he could make a difference but there was no pressure. I liked him and we got along well, but was I willing to fork over the money and potentially make my situation worse?
Going for It
Ultimately I reasoned that I had spent thousands of dollars on doctors through the years with nothing to show for it. What if I halted the cycle and instead of paying doctors to fix me, I paid a trainer to help me get better?
So with that I committed to meeting with my trainer (Jason) on a regular basis.
We met weekly for months, then bi-weekly, and now once every three weeks. He slowly increased the difficulty of the weight exercises each session, then added in various cardio activities. He also advised me on nutrition, sleep, and a whole host of issues. I supplemented these sessions by reading on my own, first by reading The 4 Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat Loss, Incredible Sex and Becoming Superhuman
and more recently The Bulletproof Diet: Lose up to a Pound a Day, Reclaim Energy and Focus, Upgrade Your Life
. I took notes on each of these, made a list of what I thought would work for me, and I’m now adding those one by one to my lifestyle.
I have met with Jason 25 times now. The cost is $89 per session, so I’ve paid him over $2,200. It’s among the best money I’ve ever spent.
I’m now in what is probably the best shape of my life. My back issues are minimized (though still there from time to time). I am stronger and fitter than ever. My body fat has gone from 28% to 21% and dropping. As I’ve lost that fat, I’ve gained that amount in muscle. It’s been a great experience overall.
Financial Fitness
As I thought about this issue I realized that physical fitness and financial fitness have a lot in common. A few similarities I could think of:
- Progress is made by small gains over a long period of time. I didn’t get strong/improve overnight. It took small, consistent gains over a good amount of time (roughly ten months as if this writing). In managing money, it takes even longer. But if you make small steps over a long period, time becomes your greatest ally and does all it can to make you wealthy.
- Sometimes you need help. I’m not big on financial planners, but that doesn’t mean I don’t need help from professionals when it comes to money management. I use a CPA to do my taxes, had a very good real estate agent who became my mentor and got me started in real estate investing, and am using a lawyer to help me create my estate plan. Just like using Jason, getting help from the right financial experts at the right time can make a big difference.
- You also need to take responsibility for your own results. Just because you get help doesn’t mean you rely on them 100%. Yes, I had a trainer, but I also read, studied, and experimented. I did all I could to understand what was supposed to work and what wasn’t as well as how and why it worked. I learned myself so I could then talk to Jason, ask him meaningful questions, and learn even more. The same is true with my financial advisors. I have a pretty good knowledge of taxes, investing, business, real estate, and law. This helps me help my advisors to help me. And of course I’ve learned so much on my own that I don’t need financial help with most money management issues. After all, no one cares more about your money than you do, so you better learn how to manage it.
- Focusing on the priorities pays off. There are a million suggestions on how you can get fit. There are a million suggestions on how to manage your money. But when it comes down to it, if you pick the priorities (similar to what Tim Ferriss calls the minimum effective dose) and get them right, that’s all you need. In managing money the keys to me are earning, saving, and investing. That’s why this site focuses on them.
- Luck/circumstances play a factor. I can’t help but put this in, though it pains me to do so. Looking back on both my physical fitness and financial fitness I can see times where circumstances simply fell in my favor. So you work hard to make your own luck, but sometimes you simply get a good result that you had nothing to do with (or very little).
Summary
Ok, that was probably way more than you wanted to know about my physical condition. But maybe you want to know more. If so, let me know in the comments below and I will post from time to time on some tips I find useful.
But don’t worry, this won’t become a fitness site. Heaven knows I don’t have that much good stuff to share on that topic. 馃檪
Thanks for sharing this and tying it into personal finance as well. It is so important to emphasize that in fitness, you may need to “spend money to make money,” that is, get healthier. I think your money has been well spent in this case. Congrats again on your progress; I didn’t know you had an ailment on top of all that which makes it more impressive. I especially liked your tips in the end; I too have had financial luck from time to time but I never thought how I might have luck in physical fitness! I love the idea of comparing gains to something like compound interest, that is exactly what it is like.
I also suffered from back issues, starting when I hurt my back a couple of times as a teenager and culminating in a semi-serious injury when I was 20 years old (I was out of commission for a week). As a result I was pretty scared of weight lifting and anything beyond hiking or cardio. I regret waiting until I was in my early 30s to try it anyways, because weight lifting has made my back so much better. I think my primary issue is that I just had a weak back (and glutes etc) and never tried to properly build it up on my skinny frame. Now that I have, it has improved my posture, my stamina while walking or standing, and of course, lifting heavy objects. If I stand a lot in one day I rarely have any discomfort later, whereas before I’d be in pain that night and maybe the next day! The end result is I have gained 20+ lbs of muscle, I feel better and look better as well (hey my shirts fit properly). I just regret that I didn’t try sooner.
I’m surprised no physical therapists recommended building up your back (carefully) on your own via bodyweight exercises.
Given so much of fat loss is diet, perhaps you’ll do a nutrition post as well!
Nutrition! It’s my biggest challenge right now.
Perhaps I will post on it as a way to hold myself accountable! 馃檪
Thanks for sharing your story and I agree that there are many parallels between pursuing financial fitness and pursuing physical fitness. In addition to the ones you outlined in your post, the biggest one I believe is in first deciding that it’s an area that needs attention and then setting some goals you want to achieve! Too many people on both the financial and physical fronts say they don’t have enough time, education or whatever to even get started, so they never do.
Congrats on your fitness gains and best of luck as you keep it up!
That is so true!
Many feel inadequate when aporoaching fitness and money issues, so they do nothing.
I’m hopeful that this site will help with the money issues and show people they CAN do it (as well as give them practical tips how to do it).
Thanks for sharing your story. Back pain is just debilitating so I’m glad you found a solution to keep this at bay and now are back to training. It’s a wonderful feeling to be able to get back into great shape as an adult.
I also got a lucky break with my knee injury last week. I was on a business trip in the Middle East and a colleague there saw me walking with a cane and then sent me a video on using qi gong to help knee pain. It’s a simple pressure point area just under the knee at the back of the leg that is pressed and massaged. I did this a few times and noticed a dramatic improvement in my knee. Now I am using a bicycle and elliptical trainer plus walking around quickly with little to no pain. I plan to give it at least another month before attempting to do anything like running.
I’m so glad I didn’t go down the surgery route. Thank goodness for lucky breaks!
-Mike
Glad you are back on the mend!!! I know how frustrating it can be when you want to do something physically but can’t.
Persistance in looking for the correct answers and what works for you.
Sums up quite a few facets in life in general.
What works for you may not work for others.
The key is finding out what works and keeping with it.
That sums up both financial, physical, mental or anything in your life.
Just keep seeking and learning.
ESI, that is a fantastic story. I read ‘Healing Back Pain’ by Dr. John Sarno in the early ’90s as part of a triumvirate of fantastic books that really improved my life. First, I read Howard Stern’s ‘Private Parts’ in 1993 and the dedication reads “TO DR. JOHN SARNO, for ridding me of back pain and obsessive compulsive disorder.” Sarno appeared on the Stern show, and his message was explained clearly without a hard-sell. Next, I read Sarno’s book. It took two readings, and I was forewarned that it would take awhile for the message to stick. Third, I read Cliff Sheats’ “Lean Bodies” about how to lose body fat, after hearing him on the Stern show. Sheats was/is a tennis coach, with a great deal of knowledge about the human body and nutrition and health.
My own issues at the time involved my eyesight, and eye disease/problem. “Healing Back Pain” was a revelation. In three years, from 1993 to 1996 I took my body-fat percentage from 16% to 6.9%. For those quants among us, that is more than 1,000 days, so I got ESI’s six on the ‘small gains over time’. Continued success to you, ESI, thanks for sharing your journey!
That is an AWESOME story!
And 6.9% body fat!!! Wow!!!!!!
Glad to know I’m not the only one who learned from Sarno’s book. 馃檪
ESI, i just ran across this blog and thought i’d respond. It’s been awhile. Glad to hear your retirement plans have worked out so positively for you. Sounds like all your planning came in very handy for a very bad, unexpected job you got stuck in.
Regarding bad back, i too have had lower back issues but not nearly as bad as yours. I used to play professional tennis so i’m sure that contributed to it. I then got my exercise mostly from riding to work about 4,500/year. Since 2006 i’ve been riding a Rans recumbent style bike and since they are built for both distance and comfort i’ve mostly eliminated driving and the associated costs, helped my back (it never hurts while riding) and get my transportations costs a a rate of less than 1 cent/mile. I’ve also had the side benefit of a lot of thinking and churning of ideas while i’m riding and many of them helped me to retire earlier than planned and pay cash for my daughter’s college education and thus avoiding any student debt for her.
Anyways, in case you see this i just thought i’d share the recumbent bike and how its really helped me.
John
Thanks, John.
I’ve thought about a recumbent. As you know, they come in many styles.
Last night while out walking I saw a guy in a recumbent that was just a bit off the ground. He had a dog strapped to each side running along. I don’t think they were pulling any, but they could have been.
Anyway, my daughter said she wanted a bike like that — and two huskies. 馃檪
They come as short and long wheel base. I bot the Rans V-Rex, which is a short wheel base bike which was x-large as i’m 6’5″ and its adjustable for my height. Long wheel base recumbents as more stable but harder to transfer on a bike rack. They also make 3-wheel or trikes (balance is less of a factor) and tandem’s for riding with your wife. Thats nice as it also gets your wife on the bike with you but also is extremely comfortable which is a huge factor for the wife. Since its super comfortable most people love to ride them so they don’t sit in the garage and collect dust. Just some thoughts since you’re getting back to having time with your wife and daughter (tandem, heh heh).
Let me know if you have any other questions
John
[email protected]
ESI, just curious what you thought of the Tim Ferriss book, and which of the two books you mention are a better first read? I’m a CPA who sits at a desk all day, and I really want to start prioritizing my fitness routine as I get older. I found this post very inspiring, so thank you for that.
-Jason
I loved it and have applied many takeaways from it. Well worth the read IMO!